Adapted from Ian McEwan's
prizewinning novel, Atonement opens in 1935 on a British country estate, where
Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) and her sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan, and later
Romola Garai) live along with Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), a servant’s son.
After witnessing something she doesn't understand, Briony makes some unfounded
accusations; the fallout from those charges extends through WWII and beyond.

The hat trick of Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel, Atonement, was spinning a typical
English country-estate melodrama while simultaneously deconstructing trad Brit
lit and equating the writing process with divine providence. Successfully
translating these ideas to the screen, however, seemed as likely as Heathcliff
coming to a happy ending. Which makes Joe Wright’s big-screen version all the
more impressive: He’s produced a gripping, romantic yarn without sacrificing the
source’s meta-examination of fiction’s power. Not even the director’s swooning
take on
Pride & Prejudice (2005) could have prepared folks for this.

[....]

Yet Atonement’s extraordinary qualities outweigh any quibbles. Both Knightley
and McAvoy finally justify the ink spilled declaring them movie stars, and even
virtuosic flourishes like Wright’s Dunkirk-by-Bosch steadicam shot avoid
devolving into flashy self-indulgence. The film balances its intimate moments
and epic gestures so beautifully that you’d think this stellar adaptation was
single-handedly repenting for the rest of the season’s overblown, empty Oscar
bait.

Firstly, while my caps are not exact frame
matches - we need only look at the technical statistics
of the disc to see that Universal have come through with
a notably superior transfer than is found on the French
- Region 'B'-locked Blu-ray.

This is definitely NOT the exact same as the HD
and single-layered French - Region 'B'-locked Blu-ray
VC-1 encode.
This is a dual-layered AVC rendering with almost double the disc space
for the feature and more than double the bitrate than the previous Blu-ray!
I can definitely state that Atonement looks the best it ever has
for your home theater enjoyment. There is dramatically more depth,
sharper detail and even slightly improved colors.

The DTS-HD Master 5.1 likewise has almost double the kbps
and it sounds fabulous - crisp, tight and immersive with the film's
wonderful soundtrack that I also on on CD. This sounds much cleaner with
healthier bass.

Extras are duplicated from the 2008 DVD with Wright commentary and the
seven deleted scenes, with optional commentary, and two featurettes.
This
Blu-ray
also has BD-LIVE and a My Scenes function. There are English,
French or Spanish subtitles and my Momitsu
also identified it as being region free playable on Blu-ray
machines world-wide.

This was one of the very last Universal studio production
HD-DVDs
before abandoning that format altogether but they still have finally issued
on Blu-ray
in North America. This is one of my favorite films of the past 10-years.
Obviously, we strongly recommend this
Universal Region FREE Blu-ray - which has finally been justly treated with a
strong transfer. Another encouraging factor is the price - for less than
$20 - it is a must-own.

ADDITION: Universal / Studio
Canal Blu-ray
July 09': Unfortunately this is another in a slew of French Blu-rays
of English language films that do not allow original English audio
without the enforcement of French subtitles. It appears to be a
contractual thing but I surely wish this would come to English-friendly Blu-ray
ASAP.

A bit about the image
- it wouldn't surprise me if it was the exact same as the HD
with the same VC-1 encode.
It's somewhat superior than the screen caps below indicate. The 1080P
visuals look stunning but more credit to the film's deft cinematography.
The DVD was really not too shabby in its own right but the Blu-ray
(and HD)
versions improve upon it fairly dramatically depending on the scene.

This was one of the very last Universal studio production
HD-DVDs
before abandoning that format altogether but they still have not issued
on Blu-ray
yet in Region 'A'. This is one of my favorite films of the past 10-years
and I hope it surfaces soon. Extras seem duplicate with French subs but
there is additional 15-minute piece Jean-Yves Thibaudt, un virtuose
au Cinema in French with no English subtitles.

I can watch this via my computer with the English audio
while avoiding the French subtitles and some with a 'Macro Blocker' may
be able to avoid the enforcement. Obviously, we suggest waiting on this
title which my Momitsu
also identifies as region 'B'-locked.

I view far too many films
consecutively to have any worth as a critic. Often when I see something
that deeply moves me - I am hesitant to try to express that joy as I
know my ineffective words can never do it justice. Atonement is
such a film. A perfectly realized cinematic
experience. It is magnificent... as good as any film released in 2007.

The standard definition DVD looks very strong. Aside
from some minor noise it produces a stellar appearance. Contrast and
detail are at high levels and colors look balanced and true. I
look forward to seeing it in 1080 as I imagine everything will be
slightly improved. Atonement is a visual masterpiece with
inspirational and deeply moving cinematography and this SD DVD seems to
represent it very well.
I can't see anyone having complaints about this disc's image quality.

The audio
is in a 5.1 track (with similar DUBs in French and Spanish). To my ears
it sounded buoyant without excess. It does have moments of being tested
and pass those trials adequately. The soundtrack from Debussy to Puccini
blossoms subtly. In short, I have no complaints with the film's audio
transfer to DVD.

There are
some fabulous supplements including an interesting and telling
commentary by director Joe Wright. He has an easily decipherable accent
- there are some appropriate gaps and he talks a lot on the blocking and
detailing information to the actors. With the shots of animals he does
mention Laughton's Night of the Hunter. There are also 7 deleted
scenes with optional commentary. They run about 1 minute each and
although interesting I believe the choices of removing them was correct.
Finally two featurettes - Bringing the Past to Life - The Making of
Atonement runs almost 30 minutes and includes input from Redgrave
and Knightley as well as others. There is a shorter one as well -
From Novel to Screen: Adapting a Classic that has Wright input some
of the adaptation process - it runs only 5 minutes.

I've already extolled the
film to the hilt and for only $16 this may have the best value of any
DVD I have purchased this year. Buy... now.